Known mailer assemblies for direct mail applications have been constructed in various ways to provide a medium for information, advertisements and invoices. In many cases, a direct mail mailer assembly is provided with a tear-off portion which is to be removed by a recipient. The tear-off portion may be in the form of a return envelope, an order form for purchasing magazines or merchandise, an invoice for goods or services rendered, or a form for returning needed information to the sender.
One example of a known mailer having a return envelope is U.S. Pat. No 2,016,063 to E. T. White. White discloses an envelope consisting of a single sheet of paper divided into four leafs. The front page on the first leaf contains a window for displaying a mailing address, and the front page on the fourth leaf contains the corresponding mailing address. To display the mailing address, the leafs are folded upon each other so that the front page of the fourth leaf is beneath the front page of the first leaf.
White includes a return envelope that is connected within the mailing envelope. To retrieve the return envelope, the mailer envelope must first be opened and the return envelope must then be torn off the mailer envelope.
The return address is found on the rear page of the forth leaf. To address the return envelope, the forth leaf must first be torn off of the third leaf, and the forth leaf must then be attached to the mailer envelope with the address displayed on the rear page of the forth leaf.
The extra steps, of removing the return envelope, removing the page having the return address, and combining the two, will likely dissuade a recipient from mailing the return envelope. Accordingly, White fails to teach a return mailer that is pre-assembled for the user and that detaches from the mailer upon the opening of the mailer.
Another prior art envelope is U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,280 to Peterson. Peterson discloses a tri-fold mailer. The mailer has a return postcard that is integral to the second or third leaf of the mailer. To remove the return postcard, the envelope must first be opened and the return postcard must then be torn from the mailer. This aspect of Peterson is problematic because it required the recipient to take further steps to remove the return postcard. Accordingly, Peterson fails to teach a mailer having a return mailer that is automatically detached from the mailer upon the opening of the mailer.
Peterson also teaches advertising buck slips, where the buck slips are loosely placed within the mailer prior to mailing to the recipient. The leafs are placed within the center of the mailer and the mailer is sealed about all four edges to secure the advertisements. If any of the sides of the mailer open in transit, then the advertisements would fall out. Further, sealing each edge of the mailer requires more glue than only sealing, for example, the top edge of the mailer with glue, and creating a seal on the bottom edge by folding the mailer leafs.
Peterson fails to teach a mailer having buck slip advertisements that are attached to the mailer before reaching the recipient and automatically detach from the mailer upon the opening of the mailer. With the advertisements secured to the mailer in transit, the sides of the mailer would not need sealing.
Another mailer with a return envelope is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,237 to Bendel. Bendel discloses a multi-ply outgoing mailer, where each sheet is the same size as each other sheet and each sheet is adhered to each consecutive sheet. In Bendel, the return envelope is retrieved from the mailer by opening the mailer and tearing the sheet or sheets with the return envelope from the remainder of the mailer. The sheets that comprise the return envelope are then folded about fold lines to create the form of the return envelope.
The problem with Bendel is that the user is required to take a series of steps before the return envelope can be used, including opening the envelope, separating the return envelope from the mailer, and forming the return envelope from the separated sheet. These steps would discourage the user from utilizing the return envelope. Accordingly, Bendel fails to teach a return envelope that is formed prior to reaching the recipient and removed from the mailer upon the opening of the mailer.
One prior art article for disseminating advertisements, albeit not a mailer, is U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,566 to Hedge, Jr. Hedge discloses two coupon pouches, each having a cover leaf that is capable of closing upon the pouch to form an envelope for holding coupons. Hedge also discloses a first and second leaf, each leaf has an internal and external edge. The first and second leafs are connected to each other on the respective internal edges, and each leaf is connected to a respective coupon pouch on the respective external edge. The first and second leafs contain bi-fold advertisements, where the advertisements are glued to each leaf. A recipient can selectively remove each bi-fold advertisement from each leaf.
After the recipient in Hedge receives the pouch, the recipient must tear away both the first and second leaf, which separates the pouches from each other. At this point, the recipient must tear away each bi-fold advertisement from each leaf. Only after these series of tears does the recipient have the free coupons and the pouches for holding coupons. Accordingly, Hedge fails to teach a pouch where a single tear frees each pouch component, including an attached pouch and bi-fold advertisements associated with the pouch assembly.